Shattered Mirrors
by Winged Senea
Summary: Radiant Dawn: Part 3 Chapter 7, Soren and Micaiah have an interesting conversation when they fight each other. Their thoughts and reflections on the matter with themselves and their close friends. FINISHED! WHOOT!
1. Chapter 1

Hello again. This is going to be a very short story, two or three chapters. This is the basic encounter between the two by Micaiahs view, I might put in Sorens afterwards if it doesn't sound like too much of repetition. The other chapters will be of Micaiahs and Sorens thoughts on the encounter, with some talking with Sothe and Ike of course. Anyways, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem is not mine, if it was, then so many people would not have been used.

Italics are ancient language that I made up for the most part

Shattered Mirrors

The battle was not going well for them in the slightest but Micaiah refused to surrender. She could not surrender, there was too much at stake here. The army they were facing was well prepared to face them, they had been steadily gaining in momentum, all of them cutting through her forces as though they were wheat. In no time at all, it seemed they had reached where her and her close friends were. Even the Black Knight didn't seem to have a chance against the commander's might, she felt.

Another strange feeling waved upon her again and she tried to figure out what exactly it was. It had started at the beginning of this fight and with each step of the enemy, the closer and stronger it felt to her. It felt different then anything she had felt before but at the same time, something familiar.

She glanced back at Sothe who had begun to unsheathe his dagger. He looked back at her and gave an encouraging nod. Micaiah smiled back and took a look back at the enemy as they closed in on their group. Many of them beginning to keep their distance once they realized the Black Knight was there. One of them didn't though. She knew the moment she saw him charge the Knight that it was Ike. All the stories about him from her friend made him easily recognizable. She also noticed another heron gliding nearby the blue haired man. At first she believed it to be Rafiel, then she remembered that he did not fly, and felt that it was his brother.

Micaiah once again felt that feeling and it was on the tip of her tongue to what she felt, but still she could not place it.

Other people in the group soon became closer after the knight and Ike exchanged blows a few times, Ike barely dodging a lethal blow from the knight. A purple haired female swordsman soon began duelling Edward, while a small green haired archer hit Fiona critically, making her retreat in haste. Micaiah was glad that her friend would live to see another sunrise, and hoped that they all did.

Sothe soon became distracted when a large hawk swooped down on him, talons ready to rip him apart. He dodged and tried to hit it with one of his daggers, but it too, also evaded, leaving it a draw for the two. Another person came running up to her and Sothe, and when he did, she finally understood the feeling that she had been having since the beginning of the battle. The boy stopped just short of her, a tome in his hand, ready to attack before he began to study her.

"..Ah," He said after a moment. "that explains quite a bit about the stories that surround you, Maiden of Dawn"

She felt the feeling that was similar to her own. The intertwinement of a beorc and laguz blood was evident in him. "You…Who are you?" she asked, getting no response from the other. She glanced up at his forehead that confirmed her belief of what he was. "You're…You're just like me!" She had never met anyone that was like her, she had almost believed that she was the only one. But the evidence stood before, even if he was an enemy.

She saw the smallest twitch of his arm as he continued to stare at her before he closed his eyes. "Yes, they call us the Branded." He answered back to her, opening his eyes again and staring at her. "And as the years pass, I understand better and better how others see us. As hateful creatures that do not deserve any right to live."

Micaiah felt herself looking into his soul, finding hate, distrust, and bitterness. "You are so…cold. It's like you're cloaked in frost. Is there even blood in your veins?" She began to shake as she felt his presence. She had once been like that, not too long ago as well. Although Sothe was the one that had actually started her in coming out of her shell, once she realized that Daein citizens were nice and comforting, just because she was from Daein, she changed herself; that was why she was here in the first place.

"There is." He said, shaking her out of her thoughts. "Blood similar to yours, in fact. Blood that teaches us what it means to be rejected and alone."

She shivered again, as if he was making herself feel cold. "You're heart is frozen…" she said, then stopped, as she felt something different. "And yet…" She closed her eyes in thought as she tried to find what that was. "And yet...I feel a warm core. And it's trying to melt through that ice. I see…You have someone you cherish very much. Someone you rely on and who relies on you. That bond is very strong and--"

"Do not presume to understand me, you idiotic girl!" He shouted, readying his tome once again, glaring at her. "You have no idea who I am and what I can do. None at all."

Micaiah felt the winds begin to shift and she too readied her light tome, to defend herself. She glanced at Sothe for a second, who was still in battle with the hawk. Laura ran by to heal a gaping arm wound that he had received. She looked back at her opponent, waiting for the attack.

"Daein has no business in this war," he continued, opening the tome, the winds shifting more eagerly then before, waiting for their commands. "I will defeat you swiftly and send you and your army back to Daein. Where you will stay until the war is over. I hope you learn not to interfere with affairs that are of no concern to you ever again."

"I finally meet my own kind, and he is an enemy…" She trailed off. She had wanted to talk with him, to find out if others existed. To see if there was a way for them to exist in this society. But the light sage realized that it was futile to discuss this any further. She had to protect her homeland. She had to make sure the people of Daein did not suffer any more then they had. She owed them that much. "I will not retreat. I won't let you go any farther."

"_Spirits, echoing amidst the sky, take wing and dance_!" He chanted, a massive swirl of wind flying quickly towards Micaiah. She tried to dodge but to no avail as it hit her on all sides, slashing her everywhere. She faltered, ignoring the pain and the shouts that were coming from her friends, and began chanting her spell.

"_O light, gather open my path, glisten through this dark earth and show thy radiance!" _She let her hand drop as the ball of light descended onto him. Although it seemed to have an effect, he practically looked unharmed by it.

Bringing out his tome again he brought out another spell and before she had time to retaliate or fall to the ground, he was creating another. She closed her eyes waiting for it to descend upon her but it never happened. When she looked up, Sothe had gotten in the way of the attack, protecting her from the majority of the blow. Blood began to fall in numerous places but he seemed to take no notice.

"Micaiah, are you alright?" He asked her, running towards her. Micaiah smiled and gave a small nod as she stood up with his help. He looked from her, to the boy as he glared. "You're friends are retreating, Soren, so I suggest you follow. Unless you want to fight all of us." It was more of a threat then anything else. Micaiah noticed that the hawk her friend had been fighting was flying off, saying something about a main army to the commander, many of the others were falling back at the news. She looked back at the boy, who she now knew was Soren, and noticed that he looked unfazed by all of it.

"It seems we have succeeded, so there is no need to stay." He merely said, before also taking his leave of the field. Micaiah let them leave the marsh, following them would surely be suicidal. This left the Daein army alone in the marsh, a fraction of what it used to be before that small group came by.

Micaiah ordered a retreat as well and they returned to the base of operations. She was furious with the lack of information that she had received from the Begnion army. Her forces were losing ground and many of them looked discouraged. Micaiah tried her best to raise morale but she, too, was tired and downcast. As she and the rest of her companions walked back to their camp, she felt herself feel dizzy and before she knew it, the world went dark.

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Alrighty, finished. Bad? Good? What the hell is going on? All that can be expressed in a review when you press that little button over there on the bottom left. Expression is good for you!

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	2. Chapter 2

Senea: I'M Not DEAD! I sort of loast track of this one after awhile and had no idea what to write but wanted to finish it. Sigh...  
Okay, this is the last chapter, I think. Instead of having two separate chapters about them I just lumped it into one chapter. Sorry for the late update. Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Nope, nu-uh, no way, not in your life.

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The flap to her tent moved and Micaiah turned her head in its direction to reveal Sothe walking in, a small tray of food in his hands and a small worried look on his face. She only noticed because she had known him for so long. Anyone else would have just seen him scowling.

They were at their camp base, two days after their encounter with the Liberation Army, Micaiah had blacked out from exhaustion and she had been ordered by Sothe to rest whenever she could. As she didn't want to let any of the troops know that she was ill, the rests were still fewer than what she needed to recover, much to her friend's annoyance.

Sothe walked in and placed the tray on her table and took a seat at the bottom of her bed. "Feeling any better?" he asked, staring straight ahead at the door flap.

Micaiah nodded. "Yes, thank you Sothe, I'm fine…" she trailed off as she sat up in her bed and reached for the food, placing it on her lap. "You don't need to worry so much about me, okay?"

Sothe turned his head towards her, a displeased look on his face. "Micaiah, you collapsed on the battlefield and you haven't been regaining your strength like you should be. Then you're going to go back out and do it all over again for a war that we have no place in! Of course I need to worry about you!"

"Sothe…I…I can't leave now. There are too many people who are going to get hurt and die if I'm not out there. You understand, right?"

"No, I don't!" He shouted, standing. "I don't care about what you owe all of these people for helping you during the Mad King's War. You've paid off your debt long ago if you ask me. I don't want you getting hurt anymore because of it. We should just go back to the way things were, leave the palace and be the Dawn Brigade again."

"But then…" She said quietly, staring at the food in her lap. She would go back to being what she had been before, never staying in one place, hoping that no one would notice her mark. Even if they were to regroup the Dawn Brigade, she would eventually have to leave them as well. The maiden was fearful of what she was in the past now, hoping to never seclude herself from the world so thoroughly as she had done before, like that sage she met. Someone of her own kind being so isolated from everything made her realize just how lonely she had been, and what she never wanted to feel again.

"We can't stay here for long anyways." Sothe sighed, sitting back down on the bed. "You said so yourself, until Daein is stable. Well, we can't wait that long, Micaiah, someone might notice that you aren't beorc like Muarim did and they might not be as nice about it as he was."

"Sothe." Micaiah said suddenly, looking back at her friend. "What can you tell me about the person I was fighting? That boy sage?"

"You mean Soren?" Micaiah nodded, he gave her a look. "What does that have to do with what we were…"

"Just answer the question."

Sothe sighed again before thinking for a moment. "I don't know much about him, not like many of the mercenaries did, really. He's the staff officer of the Greil mercenaries and a highly skilled mage. He kept mostly to himself and the only time he talked with anyone was about strategy or weapons. The only one he really seemed to open up around was Commander Ike. They seemed to be good friends. That's about all I know. Why?"

"He…he noticed who I was."

"What?"

"And the reason was, was because he is one himself."

"Soren's a Branded?"

Micaiah nodded. "I sensed that he was so cold, so distant…I, I just do not want to go back like that. You remember right? I never really talked with anyone but you until the Mad King's War. When you left, everyone was so nice, and slowly I saw that people were caring. I opened up, Sothe. But…but if I leave now, I might just go back that way and be frightened of anyone noticing me! I can't go back to that. Not after this."

Sothe looked at her in shock and concern. "Micaiah…"

"Even if I _do_ go back, everyone knows who I am now. They would all wonder why I left when they needed me the most. They would hate me again. I can't…I just can't go back like that Sothe. That's why we need to stay. Why _I _need to stay."

Sothe sighed before placing his hand on Micaiah's shoulder, knowing full well that she has made up her mind on the situation. The only thing that he could do for her was to be supportive and made sure no one tried to kill her. But first…

"Alright. We'll stay, but on one condition." Sothe stated, earning a confused look from the sage. "You rest up more, and take care of yourself a bit better. I can only do so much protecting you, Micaiah, the rest is up to you."

Micaiah nodded at him and gave a small smile, happy that Sothe understood. "I will, Sothe, don't worry."

Sothe nodded before turning and leaving the tent, allowing Micaiah to dwell on her own thoughts. She stared at the food on her lap and her smile grew. If she had such a strong and warm person by her side that made her change, perhaps Soren's person could finally breakthrough the ice that surrounded him. And, when they met again even in battle, they might be able to talk about a few more things that she was so eager to ask her own kind.

The Liberation Army finally took some rest, their scouts saying that the Begnion Army was going to take at least three days right now to get near them. Skirmir ordered a break that night and all the tents were reserved for the wounded, the others slept outside. Soren himself was normal and as healthy as the majority of the mercenaries, though they were basically the only people who were strong enough to continue a large fight. Skirmir, he noticed, was still weakened from his battle with Zelgius so he was not going to be of much help to them in terms of fighting strength. Janaff and Ulki were still in good shape, but they were used for scouting for the enemy so they were still busy. Ranulf and his former subordinates seemed to be the only ones that could still fight at the moment. Soren frowned in thought; they wouldn't get far with this kind of army in such bad condition, especially if the Begnion Empire were to catch up to them. He had a strong feeling that at the pace they were moving, they would, and there was little chance of them surviving against a fully rested, fully prepared army.

The sage turned another corner as he tried to find a good place to rest. He had just come out of the last battle meeting that was merely people wondering how long it would take to reach Gallia and if they would make it out alive before Begnion's army came. It looked too bleak for them at the moment. They had also discussed the last battle, highlighting Ike's battle with the still alive Black Knight, and touching on the fact that Soren had battled against the Maiden of Dawn. Though he gave no intention of telling anyone of his conversation with her, he said that she was an easy opponent in general to deal with. In fact, most of her troops were quite inexperienced with fighting laguz or even beorc.

Soren's frowned increased as he remembered his fight with Micaiah, almost regretting to try and get her out of the picture. Her words still rang in his head and he was greatly annoyed by it.

"Hey, Soren?" The sage turned to his commander's voice to see him walking over towards him. He stopped, waiting for his friend to catch up with him, a curious look on his face.

"Yes, Ike? What is it?" he asked casually, staring at him as he stopped as well.

"Well. It looked like you had wanted to say more on the issue of the battle…" Ike trailed off, beginning to walk again. "Anything you want to tell me about?"

Soren glanced at the ground before looking back straight ahead, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the topic at hand. Only Ike would notice that he was hiding something like that.

Ike interrupted his thoughts when he placed a hand on the sage's shoulder. "Come on, we can talk privately over there. Alright?" He knew his friend well enough to see that he wanted to say something, it was bugging him enough to act only a little bit different than usual. Especially if the sage didn't want anyone else to know.

Soren nodded as he was led over to the edge of the camp, where no one could hear any of what they were talking about. Ike rested up against an old tree trunk, his arms crossed, while Soren merely stood in front of him. The swordsmen waited for his friend to start patiently, knowing it could take a while for him to gather his thoughts.

"Do you remember…How at the beginning of the battle I said that something was strange?" Soren asked. When Ike nodded, Soren continued. "The feeling that I had, came from the commanding officer of the enemy, Micaiah, the Maiden of Dawn…"

"Micaiah?" Ike repeated, the sage nodded and he sighed. "She really is becoming a major issue for us."

"It looks as if we can no longer ignore Daein. Which means the battles will get harder for us as we progress further into this war." Soren responded. "In any case, she…When we went in battle…I realized that…She's one of the Branded."

"What?" Ike was off of the tree now, his arms going back to his sides, surprised by this new information. A though occurred to him and he frowned in curiosity. "Wait...How…How can you tell?"

Soren shrugged casually. "I'm not quite sure myself. It was the same with Stefan. Somehow…we are able to tell." Soren tensed slightly, not wanting to talk any further on the subject, but knew that it wasn't going to end so shortly. "She recognized me as well so I suppose it's a trait of some sort..."

"I see..." Ike trailed off, thinking for a moment. "Do you think that anyone from the army knows?"

Soren scoffed. "I doubt it. If the Daein people knew that their precious maiden of miracles was merely a filthy Branded, they wouldn't hold her in such high regard."

"Soren!" Ike shouted, frowning at the sage. "How many times do I have to tell you not to talk like that?"

"My apologies..." Soren mumbled, though it sounded like he didn't mean it.

Ike sighed in disappointment but didn't press the matter further. Soren still seemed to hate his own kind, even himself at one point or other, no matter how many times Ike would say that he was just a person, it never got through to him. "Okay, so, what happened after you found out?" he asked, going back to the topic.

"We, talked." Soren responded. "She seemed to have some power similar to the herons...And was quite surprised to find someone else the same as her. I suppose she hasn't seen any others...Then, we fought and Sothe came to her aid. That was when we had to leave." The sage finished and waited for his friend to respond.

Ike thought for a moment in silence, thinking over what his tactician had said. Before long he nodded to himself and turned to Soren. "Alright...What are your thoughts on this?"

"Excuse me?" Soren asked, puzzled to what Ike was getting at.

Ike shrugged, trying to word it as carefully as he could. "Well, Micaiah's the leader of the Daein army and now we know that she's a Branded. You seem quite stressed out by it, like you're upset about something. I was wondering if you wanted to say anything else."

"I am not upset about it." Soren stated stubbornly, frowning at his commander.

He sighed, knowing this could take awhile. "Soren, it's clear that something's bothering you about it. Are you, jealous?"

"Jealous? Why would I—"

"She's comfortable around others. She doesn't seem to be too afraid about letting people get too close. Micaiah lives quite an open life from normal Branded. Doesn't that say something?" Ike asked, trying to veer his friend into actually speaking his mind. "Maybe you're concerned about her, I don't know. Just, what is so strange about her that makes you be in such a mess?"

"She's a Branded, Ike. She's only fooling herself with what she's trying to accomplish." Soren stated coldly. "As soon as word gets out that she is a Branded, the people of Daein, and quite possibly her so called friends as well, will drop her off as if she never existed. It's not concern, its fact. And I don't care whether that happens or not."

Ike looked sadly over at Soren. "I hope that isn't the case...Maybe you'll be wrong. Maybe, because of her and her deeds, that people will begin to accept the Branded. And then none of you have to hide anymore."

Soren glared at the thought. Before he had time to say anything about what Ike had to say, the commander walked over to him and gave him a small tired smile. "Think about it for awhile, and make sure you get some rest. We have to rise earlier than usual to try and get back to Gallia." Soren only nodded in response and watched as Ike left, returning to the camp once more. Soren stayed, lingering on the commanders words.

Micaiah was a nuisance. It didn't matter if she was a Branded or not, that meant nothing to him. Just as when he had met Stefan. Micaiah was only trying to help in a losing war, trying to make something that could never happen, happen. Beorc and laguz may have started to get along, but neither of the two races would fully accept the Branded, no matter how closed the gap is. Soren knew that nothing would change.

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Senea: And....DONE! I finished something too WOOHOO!! Sorry for those people who waited and have to deal with a kind of strange ending. I had no idea what was going on...Anywho. Kindly leave a review an dtell me what you think. This way I can improve and update quite possibly faster the next time. Thanks again to those who did find the first chapter interesting. This may have not been what you expected, but once again, sorry.

Please review!


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